Convenience foods (i.e., products which require a minimum amount of consumer preparation and which can be prepared quicky) are in high demand to accommodate today's busy lifestyles. Examples range from cheese and cracker snacks and canned stews to refrigerated bagels and some frozen dinners. Typically, such products will be eaten as packaged or after a brief heating period, preferably by microwave heating. Notably absent from this category are bread products.
Baked bread products are normally available as freshly prepared products that are intended to be consumed within a relatively short time period or as frozen products which can be stored in the frozen state for relatively long periods of time. Such frozen bread products, once thawed, generally must also be consumed within a relatively short time period. Baked bread products are generally not sold as refrigerated products. Once a fully baked bread product has been refrigerated, it tends to “toughen” or become leathery, stale, and/or dry. See, for example, David, English Bread and Yeast Cookery, American Edition, p. 255 (Viking Press, New York 1977). When such a bread product becomes “leathery” (a term of art), it becomes harder to chew and loses its palatability.
Feldmeir et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,558, provided a meal kit containing a baked bread or dough product in a sealed pouch which is contained within a compartment contained within a base tray having an anti-fogging agent component. The anti-fogging agent assists in maintaining freshness and retarding staling under refrigerated, non-frozen conditions. Generally the anti-fogging agent is contained within a layer of the base tray or in other container elements so that enters the compartment in a time release manner so that it gradually blooms onto the internal surfaces within the meal kit. The anti-fogging agent is though to prevent the formation of water droplets within the container and thereby allow any trapped moisture to more easily evaporate from the meal kit.
Berkowitz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,432 (Oct. 22, 1001), extended the shelf life of a bakery product by including both a sucrose ester emulsifier and a polyvinyl-pyrrolidone synthetic hydrocolloid in a conventional dough mixture from which the bakery product is formed. The sucrose ester emulsifier had a HLB value of 15 to 16 and was present in the dough in an amount of up to 1 percent. The polyvinyl-pyrrolidone synthetic hydrocolloid was included in the dough at a level of 0.5 to 2.0 percent; generally the polyvinyl-pyrrolidone synthetic hydrocolloid had a molecular weight of 300,000 g/mole or higher. By employing these additives (i.e., sucrose ester emulsifier and polyvinyl-pyrrolidone synthetic hydrocolloid), Berkowitz et al. was able to control the water activity of the bread and increase the shelf life of the product.
Apicella et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,717 (issued Apr. 25, 1995, and owned by the same assignee as the present application), provided a bagel product having an extended shelf life of at least two weeks under ambient conditions. These bagels were prepared from a dough containing flour, water, yeast, salt, sugar, and a freshness-promoting combination of ingredients (i.e., monoglycerides, monosaccharide, and a starch-degrading enzyme along with optional ingredients such as oil, gum, gluten, egg solids, and an antimicrobial agent (e.g., calcium propionate)). Preferred dough formulations, based on the weight of the flour, were provided as follows:
IngredientAmountflour100high fructose corn syrup5–8sodium chloride1.5–2.5mono and diglycerides0.5–1.5starch-degrading enzyme0.25–0.6 vital wheat gluten1–2xanthan gum/guar gum0.22–0.44egg whites1–2yeast1.5–3  watersufficient to provide aformable doughThe resulting fully cooked bagels had good visual, textural, and flavor characteristics which could be maintained for at least two weeks when stored under ambient conditions in a resealable wrapper effective to reduce moisture loss.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,864 (issued May 30, 2000 and owned by the same assignee as the present application) employed a starch-degrading, bacterially derived amylase enzyme to prepare a bread product having improved shelf life and resistance to staleness when stored under refrigerated conditions. Shelf life under refrigerated conditions was reported to be several weeks. Dough formulations similar to U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,717 (discussed above) were used.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,938 (issued May 11, 1993) used an intermediate temperature stable bacterial α-amylase enzyme in a bread dough to produce bakery products with increased resistance to staling; typical improvements in softness where reported on the order of about 10 to 50 percent after about 1 to 5 days of storage under ambient conditions as compared to a control.
U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/598,633 (filed Jun. 21, 2000) and Ser. No.10/043,004 (filed Jan. 8, 2002), both owned by the same assignee of the present application, provided a shelf-stable, fully cooked flatbread which can be stored under ambient conditions and which remains soft through its entire shelf life of 6 months or longer. Preferred dough formulations, based on the weight of the flour, were provided as follows:
IngredientAmountFlour100Water25–40Vegetable Oil 5–20Glycerin 5–20Corn Syrup Solids 5–20Baking Powder1–3Dried Yeast1–4Salt1–4Potassium Sorbate0–1Calcium Propionate0–1Monoglyceride &0–2DiglyceridesFumeric Acid0–2L-Cysteine Hydrochloride0–1Spices 0–10The resulting flatbread product could be fully baked, stored at ambient temperatures for extended periods of time, and later served cold or reheated without becoming leathery, dry, stale, and/or tough.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,813 (issued Aug. 7, 2001) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,445 (issued Oct. 23, 2001) used various enzymes to help retard staling of bread products. The first-listed patent used an amylase effective for hydrolyzing both starch and amylose. The second-listed patent used one or more dehydrogenases as dough conditioners. Although neither patent provides data on shelf life, testing procedures related to anti-staling properties were continued for only 9 days under ambient temperatures, thereby suggesting that shelf life was on the order of no more than about a week or a week and a half.
There remains a need for extended shelf-life bread products. More specifically, there remains a need for bread products which can be baked, then stored for relatively long periods under refrigerated conditions, and subsequently eaten cold, warm, or hot (i.e., reheated) without further baking and without becoming leathery, and which retains the desired textural and taste properties. Moreover, there is a need for a fully baked bread product which can be used in a kit format and which retains its soft interior texture and firm crust throughout the expected shelf life of the kit and remains tasty and chewable when eaten hot or cold. There further exists a need for a ready-to-eat bread bowl product and kit containing a ready-to-eat bread bowl product which can be stored under refrigerated conditions for relatively long periods without the bread product becoming leathery, dry, and/or stale; and which remains equally tasty and satisfactorily chewable either hot or cold. It is generally preferred that the ready-to-eat bread bowl product be provided as part of a kit containing other food products, including, for example, stews, soups, chili, dips, salads, savory or sweet fillings, and the like, which can be heated as appropriate and consumed.
The present invention provides such fully baked, ready-to-eat bread products and kits containing such bread products in combination with other complementary and associated food products. More particularly, the present invention provides fully baked, ready-to-eat bread products and kits containing such bread products in combination with other complementary and associated food products. The bread products of this invention can be eaten as is or after heating. In an especially preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a fully baked, ready-to-eat bread bowl product which can be stored under refrigerated conditions and which retains excellent organoleptic properties (e.g., soft interior texture and firm crust) through its entire shelf life of at least three months, and preferably four months or longer.